Shadow Hunt
by Silvershadowfire
Summary: What if Yami remembered who he was from the moment he awoke in the Puzzle? AU one shot that could become more. DARK, gore, swearing, implied yaoi if you squint


Title: Shadow Hunt

Author: Silvershadowfire

Beta: Seti

Rating: R

Warnings: Gore, language.

Disclaimer: I don't own them

_Shadow Hunt_

Shadows fell thickly over Domino that night, and only two people knew why. A third might have known, if he could be made to understand, but Seto Kaiba was caught in the depths of his own darkness, rebuilding his shattered heart.

So only two knew that this night, the Pharaoh hunted.

Midnight leather replaced golden armor, the weapons to his hand far deadlier than any sword as he coursed the streets of Domino, the shadows drifting around him like hounds. The Puzzle glimmered, terrible and beautiful, an inversion of the symbols of sun that his people once reverenced.

Prey... his prey. Fools who thought they could bother his precious one, his Light, the only thing that the pharaoh worshiped now. A gang of school toughs who thought that small and beautiful meant weak. More fools, for they had not taken the warning his generous light had given them, and attempted to lay hands on Yuugi's sacred body.

He would have had them then, but Yuugi had run instead. Not to save himself; he knew that his yami would never permit him to be injured. For them, to save them from the dark Pharaoh's wrath.

Noble. Generous. Ultimately in vain, for Yami would not permit that crime to go unpunished. So when darkness took the city and his light slept all unknowing, Yami took their shared body and slipped from the window of the Game Shop. To hunt.

To kill.

He harried them, one by one. Teasing them, flushing them out. Chasing them down, his shadows nipping at their heels until he brought them to bay at last, caught in a vacant lot with nowhere else to run. Eight mortal youths, all bigger than he, all stronger in body and weaker in mind. Their spirits quailed; brave in numbers and the light of day, they cowered before the night and the unknown.

Hardly fit opponents for one who had played the game of nations.

"Come." Yami breathed, the Wedjet Eye bright on is brow, a crown of light in lieu of the one lost to time. His name was lost with it, his Ka bound in the Puzzle around his neck. But even with only ba and shadow in his soul, it was enough to deal with the like of these. "Come and play my game. If you win, you can leave this place, alive..." Not untouched, no. But they would live, with their minds and souls intact. Even if they showed courage he might be merciful, and give them the honor of justice at his hands.

"And if we lose?" the leader called, voice shaking. He was the tallest and strongest of the bunch; Yami gave him a glance, contempt in the glowing red eyes.

"You die."

The leader flinched back at the cold promise of those two words, and the smirk that delivered them.

"There's only one of you..." the leader blustered, his skin rank with fear sweat and his hands nervously clenching a blade. The cropped hair was starting to fall out of it's ponytail as his eyes darted between his cronies, Yami and the lank grass at their feet. "..we can take you out."

"Can you?" The shadows shifted around him. "Is that the game you wish to play?"

"Fuck you asshole. This isn't a game!" Bluster... it was in the set of his body, the nervous twist of his wrists.

"It is... these are the rules. You may only choose one weapon." He held up a finger and smirked. "One only. You may attack or not, as you will, but if you show cowardice and flee, then my pets will strike you down. Be brave, and perhaps you will live."

The goad was enough. "Fine.... we all have knives... Hito, grab your taser. Eight of us, you're going down!"

"Right, boss." One of them pulled out a stungun, the others had knives.

"Game start." Yami cocked his head and smirked. Deeper swirling darkness spread around the lot and rose to twice the height of a man, then formed a dome. The shadow game had begun.

"Get him!" Seven of the eight moved forward; the leader stayed behind. Yami snorted in contempt, and his hands came up in a peculiar gesture, left arm straight out in front of him and right hand beside his ear. Shadow swirled around him and suddenly he was no longer in modern garb, but in a ghostly white shenti and banded leather armor, his left arm covered with a leather guard. His dark blue cloak flowed behind him, black in the unlight. Shimmering purple and blue, the bowstring snapped as he released and the first of them went down, clenching at the shadow arrow that bloomed in his chest.

Two more went down while they stared stupidly at the their companion. Fools... children. Not warriors. His blows were not instantly fatal, but the arrows drained them of life and strength. When he had ruled, he could hit a moving target from his chariot at a hundred and fifty cubits. This was nothing.

Five left, all holding their knives in shaking hands. The yami's lips thinned as he cut two more down; they could not see the shadow arrows, so to them their companions simply dropped with cries of pain.

Two more gave cries of rage and charged; Yami's arrows cut them down but he aimed for legs and arms; their courage won them that much. The final one sidled, avoiding Yami's direct line of fire, his knife wide and clenched in a steady hand. Clever... brains and courage. He didn't look as his companions feel but simply charged from the side, knife flicking out.

Too close to shoot; Yami dodged and rolled, coming up with his bow in both hands. The nearly invisible shadow weapon knocked the other's blade flying, but Yami was pleased. "You are not the coward that your leader is." he murmured as the man froze, weaponless, his blond hair tousled and eyes dark in the half light, his courage undaunted. Fists curled, but he kept to the rules and Yami nodded again. Brave and honorable. "What is your name, mortal?"

The youth licked his lips, but there was no tremor in his voice as he answered. "Jounouchi."

"You have courage and honor, even in defeat; you are better than these curs. Go now. I give you your life."

The blond glanced at his leader. "Sorry, Hirudi." then bobbed a half bow and turned, heading into the shadowy night reluctantly. He had little choice but to leave; with his defeat at Yami's hands his life and will were forfeit. But the pharaoh had to admire the loyalty that he had, even if it was misplaced.

The leader snarled. "You fucking bastard, Jounouchi!"

"I would worry more about yourself. You are alone now. Do you have the courage to face me, one on one?" Yami asked, his bow held casually in one hand. The leader turned to face him, and the dark one could easily read the weakness there. "Show me your true soul."

"It's not fair! I can't get close to you without you shooting me!"

One shoulder shrugged as he smirked. "I said one weapon. You never specified the type."

"Fucker!" Hirudi charged, throwing his knife ahead of him. Yami's bow came up, shooting the knife out of the air like a slow, clumsy bird; he didn't get it back down in time to block the roundhouse that slammed into his jaw, sending him flying to the ground with a grunt.

"Heh. Bet you're not going to be so mouthy with a broken jaw."

Yami pushed himself to his feet, right hand coming up to wipe the blood from a split cheek with his thumb. Crimson eyes glowed as he licked the carmine fluid from his skin with a smirk. "You broke the rules."

"Fuck you and your rules! I'm going to put you six feet in the ground!"

The bow came up again; Yami shot twice, arrows slamming into the gang leader's knees. He went down with a squeal like a stuck pig as Yami stalked over to him and put two more arrows in his arms, pinning him to the ground. "You misunderstand. You broke the rules..." His bow vanished and he crouched, coming up with Hirudi's own knife. "That means you die."

"No.... NO!" Hirudi screamed as the shadows ripped off his clothes. His voice rose to a shriek, agony sweetening raw terror as the pharaoh slowly, deliberately started to cut into skin. "Fuck, what are you doing?!"

"Should I stop?" Yami asked with a dark smirk curving his lips, fingers tracing patterns in the blood. "Or maybe you would rather I meted out my vengeance on your underlings instead?"

"Yes... YES! I didn't touch your brother!"

"Not my brother. My light." Yami corrected softly, almost gently, as he traced the blade along his ribs. "So you would give up your underlings to save yourself." His crimson eyes narrowed. "I was there, fool. I saw you goading them on... one little teenager against your gang? Oh yes, I know who was responsible. In my time, a leader was responsible for the conduct of his men." The blade stabbed through skin and flesh between the bone, drawing a scream of agony.

One of the other gang members shook his head. "Kami-sama... please, I didn't want to do it. Don't kill me...!"

Yami yanked the knife out in a torrent of blood, drenching him to the elbow. "Don't kill you? Why should I let any of you live?" He moved between the fallen teenagers, glancing from one to the other. Pale shocked faces... children. Grown in body, but only children. Hirudi screamed in the background, a beautiful counterpoint to Yami's rich voice. He licked the blade in his hand absently, then made a face and spat out the liquid; it was tainted with nicotine and other things that fouled it.

"Don't... don't hurt them." another gang member spoke up, pale and shaking but he met the Pharaoh's crimson eyes squarely. "I'll... You can kill me, but let the others go, okay? Please? They were just following orders, they didn't know any better."

"So... I find courage in another heart." Yami crouched next to the tall brunet. "Your name, mortal?"

"Honda... Honda Hiroto.."

"Your courage has saved you." Yami touched the arrow in his side; it vanished into so much shadow. "Go swiftly from this place, and remember the fate of cowards."

The brunet scrambled to his feet and swallowed. "What... what about the others?"

"They will pay the price, but your courage and willingness to sacrifice has bought them mercy. They will live."

"Thank you..." Honda backed up a step, then turned and ran, vanishing into the shadows.

Yami watched him go, then turned to the rest of the gang. No unexpected courage in their souls... their fear made the air reek. He spread his fingers and whispered a word in a language long forgotten; the air shattered under the force of his power as he locked them into illusion of torment.

With a smirk he turned back to Hirudi. "Now, it's your turn..."

"I have to admit, I didn't expect this from you, Pharaoh." The voice was new and mockery laced every intonation. "But thank you for your little hunt. It's let me track you down at last."

Turning, the Pharaoh looked at the newcomer. He had to be a shadow user, no one else could enter the area until the Game was officially over. "Ba'khura." He knew him. Even pale, his hair long, wearing flesh and blood of modern days as he himself did, Yami knew his ancient enemy. His twisted soul called to the night as Yami's did, and the Ring of Dark Wisdom and Madness lay on his chest over his omote's white sweater.

"Pharaoh."

Behind Yami, Hirudi screamed and begged for his life, hoping the newcomer would help him. Garnet under white glanced at him and then back at Yami, one hand in the pocket of the neat slacks he wore. "It's hard to talk with your toy making that much noise."

One hand twisted and shadow gagged the gang leader. "Speak then, before I call a Game on you. What do you wish here?"

"Your Puzzle. I'll gladly challenge you for it, Pharaoh... but not now. I will set up a place for us to meet." The thief's arms crossed and he smirked. "I've been waiting for this for three thousand years."

"Bring it on." The pharaoh sauntered up to him, answering confidence radiating from him. "I don't lose."

"You did then, and this time you don't have your priest with you. I'll fucking turn you into dogmeat and feed you to the jackals."

"I have allies... unlike you. Even the body you wear fights you... you can't beat me. You are alone, you'll always be alone and I'll send your soul back to the shadows, so you can scream out your torment for the rest of eternity." Yami flicked his bloodstained hand. "Try as you will Ba'Khura, you will never have my Puzzle."

The thief's eyes narrowed and he snarled abruptly, showing sharpened fangs. "You will never destroy me, Pharaoh." The shadows gathered and Ba'khura faded into them, his voice drifting out. "I _am_ the dark."

The other's crimson eyes watched him vanish, and he absently sliced across the palm of his hand, bringing it to his mouth and licking with a smirk. The look on his face wasn't human, nor sane, as he spoke to the emptiness.

"So am I."


End file.
